Professional Peer Support (PPS) … for those times when teaching gets tough…

PPS is professional support within the PCV community. We are volunteers talking about work, sharing lessons, and supporting each other in a very demanding professional environment. We work to ensure new teachers can receive guidance without risk, to connect teachers with content, and to foster sustainable innovation within PC China and the schools we serve.

Who We Are

PPS is completely volunteer run. We are teachers who want the best for our students, who work together to make sure each China volunteer is provided the best professional development possible throughout their service.

There are three types of teachers in PPS:

Mentors
First year teachers will be assigned a Volunteer Mentor who will be their first contact for specific classroom questions. Mentors will be responsible for fielding questions about pedagogy and general curriculum. They will also contact their first-years once a month, by email or phone depending on the needs of the pair, to make sure that first-years are connected to the resources available and to check on their morale. These conversations are also a chance for mentors to collect successful innovations to add to the curriculum database or share with the general PCV community. In addition, Mentors will observe their first-years as needed to allow PCVs to try something new with a trained observer available to discuss, find solutions to a problem the PCV has identified in their classroom, or simply provide general feedback based in significant experience with Western pedagogy.

Subject Area Resource Teachers
Teachers with significant experience and/or education in particular subject areas will be asked to be resource teachers for the PC China community. If a first-year has a curriculum question that an advisor cannot answer, than the advisor will forward it to the appropriate resource teacher. RTs can also develop curriculum (as RTs are willing and curriculum is needed), maintain Google Bookshelves dedicated to their subject, and review the IACD for accuracy in their area of study. Finally, the RTs will work with PC staff to ensure the IRC contains the best and most useful publications in their area.

First Years
First-years are teachers with little to no classroom/TEFL experience who might want advice about or help with their teaching. No mater where you teach, your first year is difficult. We encourage all first year teachers in PC China to sign up for a mentor.